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Millions of jobs set to be lost
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The risk of losing millions of conventional jobs also comes from the emerging peer-to-peer lending fintech, which is targeting the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) through digital services. (Shutterstock/File)
D
isruptive innovation in digital technology is on the horizon, with bankers and toll road operators beginning to replace manual jobs with digital machines, raising concerns that millions of jobs in the finance and service sectors will be replaced.
In the most recent example of this, state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga is moving thousands of ticket gate officers to other divisions, as it will implement an e-toll system for all of its 988 gates starting on Oct. 1.
Meanwhile, banks are opening fewer physical branches, putting more money into developing digital banking and digital offices.
State lender Bank Mandiri, the largest bank in terms of assets, has announced that it plans to open only 100 branches this year, far fewer than the annual plan of 400 to 600. Such a move will lead to a reduction in the number of new recruits taken on.
“This disruptive innovation has apparently got us worried about whether or not we can create as many jobs as we did in the past,” said Sanjay Bharwani, Mandiri senior executive vice of president human capital during the bank’s first Human Resources (HR) Symposium on Tuesday.
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Other lenders joining the digital wave include private lender BTPN, which spent Rp 1.3 trillion (US$97.23 million) on developing a digital platform, dubbed Jenius, over the past three years, while DBS Indonesia launched Digiland, an entirely paperless and signature-free banking experience.
